The Games We Play
by oh-skye
Summary: A collection of mostly light-hearted drabbles.
1. That Damn Soccer Ball

**That Damn Soccer Ball. **One-shot.

_Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach. ):_

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If there was one thing Hitsugaya Toushirou was good at, it was following orders. When the Captain Commander decided to send him to the Human world, he bowed and made the preparations for his trip without asking questions. Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends no longer resided in Karakura Town, but it seemed the bright beacon of Kurosaki reiatsu still remained to draw in attention. This time, it led straight to a dark haired fifteen year old still as obstinate as she was at age eleven. Despite the reiatsu-masking product developed by Urahara Kisuke, it seemed the girl still drew hollows to her like moths to a flame. The only solution left was to teach her to control her reiatsu. And fast.

"Hey, Toushirou," Karin called out as she let the door shut behind her. It wasn't any surprise to find him on the roof once the lunch hour rolled around. Despite the fact that he'd been around for two weeks, it seemed the shinigami was determined _not _to integrate himself with the class and she couldn't have that. "I thought I told you we were kicking arse on the soccer field during lunch today."

He grunted in reply, eyes fixed on the small phone in his hand. This was becoming a routine. He would retreat to the roof and she would come up to drag him down minutes later. Or at least try to.

She sighed heavily as she trudged over to his spot against the chain-linked fence. "Come on, you skipped out on the last game. It'll be fun," she urged, tugging gently at his sleeve. "We're playing against class C and everyone's going to be there."

"I'm not here for fun" came the stoic reply as he continued to click away at the device. There were no hollow activities. That was good. Since they started working on getting her to control her reiatsu output, the attacks seemed to gradually decrease.

"Quit acting like such an old fart," she grumbled, taking hold of his arm and pulling. He didn't budge. This was not fair. Sure, he was a good three inches taller than she was and probably built completely of muscle, but did he really have to be so much stronger? Any other guy would have at least tumbled forward by now. "_Toushirou!_"

He sighed. "I'm not here to play games, Kurosaki. I have responsibilities—"

"_Yes_, you do and as a teenager, one of them is to have fun every once in a while!" This was getting to be a tiring argument.

"I'm over a hundred years old. Definitely way past my teenage years," he drawled unhurriedly. The corner of his lips tipped slightly as he caught a quick glance of her frustrated scowl.

"That's beside the point! You _look _like you're fifteen. Start acting like it," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Honestly, you said you wanted to blend in. Keeping yourself isolated from everyone and acting like you have a stick up your arse at all times is _not _the way to do it."

Toushirou raised a white eyebrow in question. "And demolishing them in a _friendly_ game of soccer is?" He couldn't stop the snort that escaped at the thought of that. These games were anything but friendly. A person had to be really good (or really lucky) to get away without injury.

Karin snickered, nudging his arm gently with her shoulder. "Well, aren't you modest," she mused with a shake of her head. "Come on, _taichou_, put your money where your mouth is. The guys were barely managing to keep up when I decided to get you. Time to save their arses. _Again_." Much to his chagrin, the story of the match against the middle school students years ago still hadn't died down. His first day had Karin's old friends retelling the tale once the bunch had gathered enough of an audience as the ice captain glared at the minx snickering behind her hand at his annoyance.

Realizing she wasn't going to let up until she got her way, Toushirou allowed the raven-haired girl to pull him along. The triumphant grin that formed on her lips earned her a roll of his eyes as he the captain muttered, "sometimes I wish I never picked up that damn soccer ball."

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**Just a short little drabble about one of my favorite (not-exactly-canon) pairings in Bleach. I've got a few of them scribbled into my notebooks so they'll probably eventually find their way onto the net. Who knows, really.**

**- Skye**


	2. I Hope You Choke

**I Hope You Choke. **One-shot.

_Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach. ):_

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"Oh, come on, Karin," Yuzu insisted as she held out the little bag filled with the homemade confection. "It's your share of the chocolate you helped me make last night. You can't let it go to waste. I mean, we're even coming in late today. You've got to make it worth it!"

The dark-haired Kurosaki rolled her eyes, brushing off the sweets. "No, Yuzu, he doesn't even like chocolate." The tradition of giving guys chocolate never quite made sense to her. It always seemed ridiculous as girls scurried around frantically to buy ingredients for homemade chocolates or even just ready packaged ones. "And it won't go to waste. You can have it and if you really want me to take it, _I'll _eat it."

Yuzu huffed in frustration as she clasped her twin's hand. "You can't eat your own chocolate, Karin. It totally defeats the whole purpose."

"And what purpose is that? It's not like he'd want it. Toushirou hates chocolate."

"It's _Valentine's Day_. You can't _not _give him anything. He's like your best friend!"

"Yeah, _best _friend. Girls get guys chocolate to express their feelings or whatever sort of craziness those companies insist to get you to buy their product. I have no reason to get him chocolate," she argued with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, you've seen how the other girls look at him. He's bound to have his arms full."

Yuzu grimaced in distaste. "_Still_," she prodded, looping her arm around her twin's as they continued down the path towards school. "It's the thought that counts."

Karin sighed in mild frustration as she ran a hand down her face. Couldn't she just give it up? "For the last time, Yuzu, I'm not giving him chocolate! I mean—" Her voice trailed off as the said topic of their conversation came into view, looking slightly frazzled. "Yo, Toushirou. You're gonna be late."

His teal eyes darted to her as he nodded in acknowledgement then turned back to his current predicament. "Do you guys know what this is about?" He asked, gesturing towards the pile of brightly colored wrappings and ribbons shoved almost haphazardly into his locker and spilling onto the floor.

"It's Valentine's day," Karin pointed out with a roll of her eyes. "Don't you guys have that where you're from?" The corner of her lips turned up in amusement as he cringed. Apparently shinigami did have silly human world traditions. "Don't tell me the elementary school kid that took on a group of middle school students without so much as a dash of worry is actually afraid of a silly holiday?"

The jest was met with an unamused glare as Toushirou took a subtle step back. "Don't be stupid, Karin," he grumbled, "I just remembered there's something else I need to be doing today." _Anything away from crazy teenage girls, _he added mentally. There was no need to tell her that, though.

"Like running away from harmless admirers?" She had to milk this for all it was worth. Despite his almost always passive disposition, Karin knew him well enough to know he wasn't comfortable with the attention he received from the female (and occasionally male) public.

Okay, he was not going to be the only one uncomfortable. After a quick glance in their general area and noting that only Yuzu was present, Toushirou smirked. Too quick for her to get away, he grabbed her hand and tugged her forward. Karin let out a small yelp as she tumbled into his chest. The tirade threatening to spill from her lips died out at the brush of his lips against her temple. "I'm going on patrol today. Don't get into trouble," he said, squeezing her hand then quickly exited the building. "I'll see you later."

Karin spluttered in surprise, feeling the blood rushing to her face. It took a few attempts to finally form words. "_Hitsugaya Toushirou!_" She yelled, clenching her fists in anger as he had the nerve to wave over his shoulder at her. "You jerk!" The curse was accompanied by a small package hurling towards the back of his head. His hand caught the item just before it collided with its intended target. He stopped at realizing what he held. Raising an eyebrow, his teal gaze met hers in question. "I hope you choke on them!"

He grinned at that, raising his hand in a quiet thanks before quickly hopping the fence to avoid the teachers watching the main gate.

With the object of her frustration gone, Karin stomped away from the lockers and towards homeroom. A quick glance at her baffled twin nearly made the girl cringe. _This was going to be fun,_ she thought as Yuzu seemed to finally come to her senses. _Oh, the tenth squad had better start searching for a replacement captain._

"I thought you weren't going to give him chocolate!" Yuzu cried in disbelief as she trailed after her twin. "And what was _that_?" Her arm flailed wildly, gesturing towards the direction Toushirou headed. She saw it, but she couldn't believe she saw it. She knew there was something more to the relationship between her twin and Toushirou, but to _that_ extent? "He kissed you! And you let him!"

For once, the dark-haired Kurosaki thanked whatever higher being there was that they were running late. She did _not _need anyone overhearing that and starting crazy rumors. Realizing that she couldn't ignore Yuzu the whole way or risk having her make a scene, she took a deep breath to brace herself before turning around. Karin raised an eyebrow, fixing an innocent expression on her face. "I don't know what you're talking about, Yu. I didn't give him chocolate. That was amanatto." With that, she dashed off in the direction of their classroom before allowing her twin a chance to start an interrogation.

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**Yet another drabble I had in my notebook. This will be a collection of one-shots. It isn't actually a multi-chapter fic. I just didn't want to keep creating 'new stories' when there wasn't really much of a point.**

**- Skye**


	3. Turned Into a Popsicle

**Turned Into a Popsicle. **One-shot.

_Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach. ):_

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Tugging the collar of her jacket closer together, she eyed the path ahead of her in annoyance. With a full head of white hair, it was impossible to miss the object of her search looking out into the horizon. Ever since his arrival in town years ago, the railing at the edge of the cliff had become his spot. Anytime he wanted to get away or wanted some peace and quiet during an extended mission, this was the place he went. Considering the fact that his extra-curricular activities consisted of slaying hollows and running a squad of hundreds of men and women, she couldn't fault him for that and usually gave him his space.

Tonight, however, was a different story.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou," she growled as she stomped over to the railing. The fact that she had to run to this hill to find him had put the girl in a not-so-amicable mood.

"Karin?" He frowned, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Going to meet up with my secret boyfriend for some clandestine tryst," she answered dryly with a roll of her eyes. "Why do you _think_ I'm here?" Her hands found their way to her hips as she glared at him in frustration. How could this guy who was supposedly a genius be so dense? "Matsumoto showed up to the Kurosaki and friends movie night without you. The town won't go up in flames if you just take a few hours off to relax, you know."

Toushirou sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "If everyone is at your house for the movie night, who's supposed to be patrolling the town? The shinigami are here for a reason, Karin. This isn't a vacation."

"And no one thinks this is," she rebutted with more force than intended, "no one is going to forget that considering how often you remind them of it! Besides, isn't Afro-san still in the area?"

He shrugged noncommittally as he tilted his head back. "You should head back. It'll be dark soon." He wasn't surprised when the blatant dismissal was ignored. "…._Karin._"

"Not without you," she grumbled defiantly, taking a seat next to him. If he was going to be stubborn, then so could she! "It's one movie, Toushirou. It'll beat sitting out in the cold like this." Then again, the chill probably didn't bother him all that much, she thought begrudgingly as she fought down a shiver. It so wasn't fair.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, Hitsugaya sighed and pulled at the cloth thrown carelessly around his neck. She would be brilliant enough to run out of the house in just a light jacket with this weather. "What am I going to do with you," he grumbled under his breath as he gently slid the cloth over her shoulders. She stared up at him in surprise, watching with wide eyes while he looped the scarf around her neck. "Can't leave you alone for a second. I don't go to school for one day and here you are, skipping happily along the path to pneumonia."

She scrunched her face together as she swatted his hands away. "You don't have to go that far," she grumbled, tearing her eyes away from his to settle on a spot on his shoulder. "It'd be a cold at the most. Besides, I knew I'd find you."

"And what would you do when I go back to Seiretei?" he countered, catching her chilly fingers between his warm hands.

"Well, I wouldn't be sitting on a railing until I turned into a popsicle, that's for sure." The muttered response was accompanied with a defiant cross of her arms over her chest. It wasn't as though she made a habit of being out in the cold. Warmth flooded her cheeks as he pulled her forward, tucking her snuggly into his side.

A small smile tugged at his lips when she turned into him, pressing her face against his shoulder. "Better?" he asked quietly, only to yelp as she brushed her nose against his neck. How long had she been out there? It wasn't like Karin to get cold so quickly, but then again, the temperature had been steadily dropping those past few days. When he felt a shiver run through her, he sighed in defeat and tugged her to her feet. "Come on, they'd better not let Matsumoto pick again."

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**Mehhhhh. I think one day I'll actually start a Hitsukarin multi-fic. ...maybe sometime after I finish my DBZ one. Haha. Except I don't think it'd be set in the human world. Bah. Who knows. That'll be quite a way from now. xp**

**- Skye**


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